Hot Seat: Lawmakers Grill Acting FBI Director on Comey; Issue Warning to Trump

WASHINGTON – During a lengthy grilling of acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, the Senate Intelligence Committee's leading Democrat, Mark Warner, issued a warning to President Donald Trump Thursday.

He told McCabe that if he faces any political influence from the White House or others to squash the agency's investigation into Russia election meddling, he should let the committee know.

McCabe is occupying the seat that earlier this week belonged to James Comey before he was sacked by Trump.

"Has the dismissal of Mr. Comey in any way hurt the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigations?" Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., asked McCabe.

"There has been no effort to impede our investigation today," the acting FBI director replied. "Simply put, sir, you cannot stop the men and women of the FBI from doing the right thing: protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution."

When asked if it was true that the rank and file had lost confidence in Comey as FBI director, McCabe called that assertion inaccurate.

"I can tell you that I hold Director Comey in the absolute highest regard," he testified. "I have the highest respect for his considerable abilities and his integrity, and it has been the greatest privilege and honor of my professional life to work with him."

Sen. Warner, D-Va., and others used the hearing to lash out at President Trump and his administration.

"President Trump's actions this week cost us an opportunity to get at the truth at least for today," Warner charged.

The committee's chairman, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., asked, "Did you ever hear Director Comey tell the president he was not the subject of an investigation?"

"Sir, I can't comment on any conversations the director had with the president," McCabe replied.

Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., asked, "When did you last meet with the president, Director McCabe?"

"I don't think I'm in position to comment on that," the director responded. "I have met with the president this week, but I really don't want to get into the details of that."

"But Russia did not come up?" Heinrich pressed.

""That's correct. It did not," McCabe said.

Senators reiterated calls to appoint an independent special counsel to get to the bottom of what occurred during the 2016 U.S presidential election.

Meanwhile, President Trump fired back Thursday at critics, saying he planned to fire Comey regardless of the recommendations from his deputy attorney general and others in the Justice Department.

"He's a showboat, he's a grand-stander; the FBI has been in turmoil," Trump told NBC's Lester Hold. "You know that; I know that. Everybody knows that. You take a look at the FBI a year ago, it was in virtual turmoil. Less than a year ago, it hasn't recovered from that."

Right now, it's unclear how long McCabe will serve as acting director. He joined the FBI in 1996 and became the deputy director in 2016.